Introduction
This report is an outline of important cultural determinants in South Korea. These determinants include political and economic philosophies, the social structure of society, and the dominant religion language and education found in South Korea. This report will also discuss the economic and legal environment of South Korea. Not only will this information be able to determine how to successfully operate a business in South Korea, but it will also bring to light the threats, costs, risks, and opportunities that can be found while operating in South Korea.
Culture
Culture is a set of values and norms. Values are what the culture believes is good, while norms are a set of guidelines believed to be acceptable behavior (Hill, 2012). There are six determinants of culture. These determinants include political philosophies, Economic philosophies, social structure of society, religion, language, and education. These determinants allow for the values and norms of culture to evolve (Hill, 2012).
As far as South Korean political philosophies, it a republic that shares power with executive, legislative, and judiciary branches. The power is centralized by the president and is appointed a single five year term, (South Korea: Government, 2012). The current president is Park Geun-hye. This is the first female president elected in South Korea and was elected in December 2012. Park Geun-hye father also once ruled as president from 1974-1979 (Banyan, 2013). Several political parties are present in South Korea, these include; New Frontier Party, Democratic United Party, Liberty Forward Party, Renewal Korea Party, and the K Party (South Korea: Government, 2012).
In reference to religion, South Korea consists of mostly Buddhism and Christianity, but there are many other religions in practice that...